"Spreading hope and joy throughout the community to those who need it most."

Friends for the Holidays began as a simple desire to help people in need during the holiday season. Like many families, we found ourselves talking about finding ways to make a difference in our community for those who were less fortunate or in need of a helping hand; but it was time to start turning our words into actions.

HISTORY OF THE PROGRAM

In late fall 2014; we had a plan to send cards and ornaments to the brave men and women serving in the military who would not be home with their families for the holidays. We also wanted to include members of our community who were experiencing some difficult and challenging times including those who would be spending the Christmas season alone. We created a Facebook page explaining our mission and asked our friends and neighbors to spread the word. It was not long before we had requests coming in for friends helping friends and neighbors helping neighbors; and some reaching out to help those they didn’t know at all, but knew their story and wanted to help.

Santa’s Workshop was quickly filled with supplies and our ten very excited Christmas elves, ages 8-13, got to work. Between bites of their pasta, lots of glitter and holiday music playing in the background, their thoughtfulness, creativity and attention to detail was clearly shining through. It was heartwarming to see each handcrafted card and ornament made as if they were for their very best friend.

Friends for the Holidays and their grown-up helpers worked diligently from November 18th through December 22nd. Over 200 handmade cards and ornaments were created and sent out just in time for Christmas. We were also fortunate enough to participate in the Salvation Army Kettle campaign raising $250.92, the most money ever brought in during a four hour time block on a Wednesday evening.

Friends for the Holidays also made a trip to Evergreen Manor to bring some Christmas cheer to the residents, hand delivering cards and placing ornaments on the Evergreen Manor Christmas tree. It was difficult to tell who was happier, the residents or our team. We were even invited back every Wednesday to play Bingo! Our last trip was a visit to the Animal Welfare Society in Kennebunk with USA National Miss Maine, Abby Boissonneault to provide our furry friends with homemade toys for Christmas. We could not forget the four legged friends in our community looking for their forever homes; they needed our love and support, too. Lastly, Friends for the Holidays was able to collect enough food donations to provide a family an entire Christmas meal.

One of the highlights for this group was an unintended consequence that we could not have anticipated. A Secret Santa in our community reached out to us in an effort to find a family during the holiday season facing challenging situations. We were blessed to be able to connect this Secret Santa to a family we found to be a close match for what Secret Santa was looking for. Being able to connect two families anonymously was a very emotional experience for the giver, the receiver and Friends for the Holidays. An experience I will never forget.

Recently, Friends for the Holidays had the opportunity to share their story with the Saco Bay Center for Civic Engagement board; and even more exciting was that our program was accepted under their 501(c)3 umbrella to increase volunteerism in the community. We are thrilled to begin this endeavor and are looking forward to growing our pool of volunteers and connecting them to community organizations with volunteer opportunities. Although our history is not long, it has been valuable. We have met new people, learned new skills and have empowered our youngest citizens with a sense of community and accomplishment. To that end, we are hopeful that in some small way, our efforts have made a difference. A big thank you goes out to Justin Chenette and the Saco Bay Center for Civic Engagement’s board of directors for offering us this venue to continue our work. We are grateful, excited and very much looking forward to sharing our spirit of volunteerism to the community.

Much love,Heather

Join Friends for the Holidays as a helper or member of the organizing committee:

Director of Friends for the HolidaysHeather ForbesSaco

Heather Forbes is a former a Massachusetts native and has lived in Maine since 1997. She and her family have been residents of the Saco community for the last 11 years. Heather and her husband Jeremy have 4 of their own children and are homestay parents to a high school sophomore from China as part of Thornton Academy’s study abroad program. With two children in college, a homestay student and two children in middle school, Heather and Jeremy stay very busy getting everyone to where they need to go, between many trips to the grocery store and many loads of laundry!

Their greatest joys are spending time together with their family, their dogs, attending sporting events (professional and high school) and vacations to Disney.

Heather has always envisioned being part of a non-profit organization of people helping people. After a car accident in 2010 resulting in a fractured back, her desire was stronger than ever. Heather’s friends and the community rallied around her family to provide everything from meals, to house cleaning services, to rides to doctor appointments; it was time to give back to those who selflessly shared their kindness and generosity.

Professionally, Heather Forbes, BSN, RN, CEN, CSHA, HACP, is the clinical education program coordinator for Maine Medical Partners, where she is responsible for the staff development and clinical education programs for all of their multi-specialty and primary care practices and assists in facilitating continued survey readiness for all accreditation, regulatory, and licensing agencies. Heather graduated with honors from Northeastern University, and her experience includes over 17 years of multidimensional nursing experience, including critical care (pediatric ICU and emergency department), accreditation and regulatory compliance, developing and implementing sustainable clinical education programs, and healthcare technology. She is a published author, speaker, and consultant for healthcare accreditation, including Commission and CMS.